Warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

A 42-year-old Singaporean woman was found guilty on Sep. 13 of aiding her ex-boyfriend's death at a car park in Bedok Reservoir and obstructing justice in 2020.

According to court documents, City Funeral Singapore funeral director Alverna Cher Sheue Pin had assisted her ex-boyfriend Wee Jun Xiang, 32, to die by nitrogen gas in a car on May 16, 2020.

She had also obstructed justice by later getting rid of the evidence and providing false information to a police officer.

Aided death

Cher, who was in a relationship with Wee in 2019 but later broke up and remained friends, was a beneficiary of his S$1 million life insurance policy with a share of 20 per cent.

Between February and May 2020, Wee had planned to commit suicide by inhaling nitrogen and had communicated with Wee about his plans.

Cher had testified that this was because Wee owed S$200,000 to S$300,000, CNA reported.

The pair shared texts about their plans and visited the multi-storey car park before the planned suicide.

On May 16, 2020, Wee arrived at the multi-storey car park at Block 145A Bedok Reservoir Road with a tank of nitrogen gas at around 12:14pm in an Audi car.

Court documents did not indicate where he got the tank from.

Cher arrived at around 2pm in a van.

At that time, Wee was still alive when he was supposed to be dead, the prosecution said, according to CNA.

Cher assisted Wee to adjust the tank in the car and also helped bring in an Ikea bag inside the car to contain more of the gas after he said he needed more of it to carry out the suicide.

Cher also turned the valve of the nitrogen gas tank in the car a few times and wore gloves to prevent her prints from being detected.

The pair talked and hugged before she left in her van, with Wee instructing her to return at 4pm.

He later died of asphyxiation at 2:15pm.

Obstructed justice

Cher returned to the car at around 4:24pm and found that Wee had passed away.

Police arrived shortly after she lodged a report.

She then got rid of the evidence by asking another man to drive the van containing the tank away from the location while she personally disposed of the bag.

She also provided false information to a police officer, claiming that Wee had told her that he had been having chest discomfort for two weeks and that she assumed he had died of a heart attack.

Lied in court, confessed to the charges

Cher was initially charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The charge was later downgraded to a charge of intentionally aiding the suicide of another.

At trial, the prosecution argued that Cher had known about Wee's suicidal ideations from February 2020.

According to court documents, multiple inconsistencies were found in Cher's statements on the case.

In response to a charge on Oct. 12, 2021, Cher claimed that she was involved as Wee wanted her to throw away evidence of his suicide.

She added that she had tried to reject his request but was afraid that he would harm her or her daughter if she did not comply.

However, she later lied in a testimony about not knowing where Wee had placed the Ikea bag and whether he had poured gas into the bag himself.

Cher finally confessed on Dec. 1, 2020 during investigations.

Cher had contested the charges and changed lawyers a few times, CNA reported.

She testified at one point that she had encouraged Wee to live on.

She also said: "I am sorry for my actions and irrational thoughts. I am also sorry for my emotional judgment. I just ask for leniency."

She will be sentenced at a later date.

For abetting suicide, she faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine.

For obstructing the course of justice, she faces up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001 01 4616 | WhatsApp: 6571 4400 (for targets of online harms)

Top photos via City Funeral Singapore Pte Ltd/Facebook